She knew it … this article would be so good, that her readers would feel touched and inspired.

She felt excited. She had finally found her voice, and was writing with passion, power, and pizzazz. Yay!

She brewed a cup of evening tea. Then decided to go for a whiskey. She felt so elated with her success. Any minor editing could wait until the next day.

But, the next day …

Heather feels disappointed. Her article doesn’t sound that great. Where has the energy gone? Why does her writing feel so robotic?

How can she power up her words and add sparkle to her writing?

How can she be more human?

We’ve all been there. We think our writing is good, but then get disappointed when we re-read a draft.

But don’t despair. A few easy tricks (yes, really!) exist to change the tone of your writing, so you can engage and inspire your readers.

Shall I explain?

An example of a human writing voice

MailChimp, a company in marketing automation, shows us how to write with a human voice. In its style guide, MailChimp describes its voice as:

MailChimp’s voice is human. It’s familiar, friendly, and straightforward. Our priority is explaining our products and helping our users get their work done so they can get on with their lives. We want to educate people without patronizing or confusing them.

This is a good starting point for writing like a real human being: The priority is always your readers—to help them rather than impress them with your knowledge.

But MailChimp’s real trick is to vary the tone of its writing. Its writers first think about their reader and their mood, and then vary their writing style depending on that mood. This is what makes them more human.

We’re experiencing a problem at one of our data centers. Our engineers are on the case, and will have things back to normal shortly.

Feels different, right?

While a voice remains constant, a writing tone can vary—enthusiastic because your readers completed a task, or compassionate because readers feel frustrated when something went wrong.

It’s like with a band. The Rolling Stones sing a ballad like Angie differently from a rock song like Satisfaction. But despite the difference, their style is still recognizable—they still sound like The Rolling Stones.

By varying the tone in your writing you connect with each of your readers. You celebrate their achievements with them. You commiserate with their failures. You offer empathy for their struggles. And you offer encouragement when they’re a little hesitant.

Shall I show you how?

1. Edit out a corporate voice

The problem with a lot of content is that it feels like it’s produced by companies for a faceless crowd.

To put your human voice back into your writing, start by skipping the gobbledygook and replace it with everyday language.

Gobbledygook-filled writing:

To those of you who experienced problems, we apologize for the inconvenience.

3. A touch of compassion

Consider using the inclusive “we” so readers feel you’re in it together. Show them they’re not the only people suffering and that they don’t have to feel ashamed of themselves.

Quite distanced:

When you constantly tell a reader what she’s doing wrong, she starts feeling insecure. She may even feel she’s the only one in the world who still can’t do it. You also make her feel you’re superior. You’re great, and she’s stupid.

Is that how you want to write?

A warmer version:

Feeling frustrated by the tone of your writing?

We’ve all been there.

We write as if our life depends on it. We feel we’ve finally found our voice. But then, when we read back our draft, the writing sounds clunky. Where has our voice gone? Why do we sound so distanced? What has gone wrong?

Especially when writing about a sensitive topic or when your readers may feel lonely, depressed or frustrated, a dash of compassion helps you connect.

5. Poke readers into action

Want to truly inspire your readers?

Want them to jump up to implement your advice?

Powerful writing inspires readers to take action. A good sales page encourages readers to click and buy. Strong social media updates make people click to read more. And authoritative blog posts motivate readers to implement your tips.

To poke readers into action, use the imperative form of a verb. The imperative form is like a command:

Just do it Run! Bookmark this blog post Start your free course

Weak inspiration:

You don’t need to despair when your draft text sounds weak.

Instead, you may start editing, and you replace gobbledygook with everyday language.

If you want to communicate your ideas with power, you can be a little bossy because that’s when people will listen to you.

Sometimes, you need to remove the word “you” and use the imperative form to create a powerful nudge and spark action:

Comments

I sort of had forgotten the word “hippety-hop.” I was reading a few old posts about writing voice and editing, and came across it again. I couldn’t help myself—I had to use it here again. I can’t remember where I originally picked it up from, but I like it, too. 🙂

Today I’m one of the first to read your new article. And I’m glad I did because it has inspired me to take a different approach to my new article. “When you constantly tell a reader what she’s doing wrong, she starts feeling insecure.” Exactly! Especially when you try to write an inspirational article for the X-mas season.

And I also noticed your new expression: hippety-hop! A total stranger to me that I would like to befriend 🙂 It sounds so funny.

Well, this was a full post! Thanks so much for all this help, Henneke. Seems you can read my mind! 🙂 I’ll be back to this one over and over as I work on editing old posts and drawing them to the forefront. Thanks again!

Hi Henneke Another great post. I’ve started to use more questions in my writing too. Your word choice never ceases to amaze me. Originality, skill and craft rolled into one. Thank you for an Inspiring read.

Hi Henneke, A lovely reminder that working on my website is needed. Have been so busy writing books and publishing my fourth and last one this year, but working ahead for January. Wishing you a lovely holiday season and a great start to 2018. in my books, ignore the pun, this is a number that spells business, Joy, but also accidents ( to be prevented) and money matters (to be controlled). this may help. Love and Blessings Annamarie

Hi Henneke, I have been following your blog from June of this year. And, it is simply fantastic, especially the way you write in your personal voice, adding glittery sentences here and there. I don’t usually comment. And, I am commenting here just to tell you that your way of writing and telling us about how we need to write just like we speak [the use of comma and stops] has greatly improved my writing. Thanks and keep posting these epic articles.

Great post Henneke! I’m really impressed. I learned a lot from your post. To be honest, I’ve been using some of your recommended techniques since 2014. It came from my inner voice. And I’m really happy to know that what I’ve been doing are the best practices taught by you. I still need to learn a lot of other techniques and will be revisiting your blog for other great tips.

Hey Henneke, I love the way you set the tempo in your sentences – making your words waltz, jive and hippety-hop to the rhythm 🙂 Shall we dance? Super appreciate your clarity on the difference between style and tone of voice. Your unique style is, well, unique to you but the tone of voice is all about engaging and connecting with your audience’s needs and emotions. Love it. Cheers!

Tango. Start with must-learn foundation rules of classic steps, struts, crosses, hooks and turns. Practise. As you become more proficient, you build the confidence to improvise and add your unique spin and style. Follow the beat of the Tango – Slow. Slow. Quick-Quick. Slow. Feels and sounds like the rhythm of one of your sentences. Let’s tango Henneke 🙂

This is pure gold! Sometimes I feel that the content I read online is written by lawyers. It sounds like the people writing it are defending a thesis or supporting a bill. While it is still important to carefully choose your words, many choose them so they are not held accountable for some reason. They take a neutral position as if to say “these are the facts, we have no opinion”. I’d rather have my business handled by a person who isn’t afraid to speak their mind, rather than a robot. I already hate AIs, and it’s because of robotic humans!

Hello Henneke, You have made a great article. It is necessary to provide a warm touch to content for our readers. I found it very useful and I think anyone will find it worthy if they are fond of writing. Thanks for sharing it with us! Thank you.

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About Henneke

I never saw myself as a writer, but in my early forties, I learned how to write and discovered the joy of writing. Now, I’d like to empower you to find your voice, share your ideas and inspire your audience.Learn how I can help you